Reconstitution of DNA segregation driven by assembly of a prokaryotic actin homolog

Multiple unrelated polymer systems have evolved to partition DNA molecules between daughter cells at division. To better understand polymer-driven DNA segregation, we reconstituted the three-component segregation system of the R1 plasmid from purified components. We found that the ParR/parC complex can construct a simple bipolar spindle by binding the ends of ParM filaments, inhibiting dynamic instability, and acting as a ratchet permitting incorporation of new monomers and riding on the elongating filament ends. Under steady-state conditions, the dynamic instability of unattached ParM filaments provides the energy required to drive DNA segregation.     

Chromosome segregation errors as a cause of DNA damage and structural chromosome aberrations

Various types of chromosomal aberrations, including numerical (aneuploidy) and structural (e.g., translocations, deletions), are commonly found in human tumors and are linked to tumorigenesis. Aneuploidy is a direct consequence of chromosome segregation errors in mitosis, whereas structural aberrations are caused by improperly repaired DNA breaks. Here, we demonstrate that chromosome segregation errors can also result in structural chromosome aberrations. Chromosomes that missegregate are frequently damaged during cytokinesis, triggering a DNA double-strand break response in the respective daughter cells involving ATM, Chk2, and p53. We show that these double-strand breaks can lead to unbalanced translocations in the daughter cells. Our data show that segregation errors can cause translocations and provide insights into the role of whole-chromosome instability in tumorigenesis.     

Chromosome alignment and segregation regulated by ubiquitination of survivin

Proper chromosome segregation requires the attachment of sister kinetochores to microtubules from opposite spindle poles to form bi-oriented chromosomes on the metaphase spindle. The chromosome passenger complex containing Survivin and the kinase Aurora B regulates this process from the centromeres. We report that a de-ubiquitinating enzyme, hFAM, regulates chromosome alignment and segregation by controlling both the dynamic association of Survivin with centromeres and the proper targeting of Survivin and Aurora B to centromeres. Survivin is ubiquitinated in mitosis through both Lys(48) and Lys(63) ubiquitin linkages. Lys(63) de-ubiquitination mediated by hFAM is required for the dissociation of Survivin from centromeres, whereas Lys(63) ubiquitination mediated by the ubiquitin binding protein Ufd1 is required for the association of Survivin with centromeres. Thus, ubiquitinaton regulates dynamic protein-protein interactions and chromosome segregation independently of protein degradation.     

原子荧光光谱法测定农业土壤样品易遇见的问题——以测定硒为例

该文针对原子荧光光谱法测试砷、锑、铋、汞和锗易出现的仪器空白不稳定、仪器污染及空心阴极灯选择等问题,总结出相应的解决方法,为原子荧光光谱法测定农业土壤样品提供理论依据.     

含荧光素的荧光高分子合成及荧光性质研究

通过把荧光素引入烯类单体后与甲基丙烯酸甲酯共聚合成了含荧光素的荧光高分子 ,并检测了该聚合物在不同溶剂中的荧光性质 ,发现聚合物在乙醇中能产生很强的荧光 .此外 ,还测试了乳酸对聚合物乙醇溶液的荧光猝灭作用 .实验发现 ,该聚合物对乳酸很敏感 .浓度在 1 0 - 1 0 ～ 1 0 - 8mol· L- 1 之间的乳酸都可使聚合物荧光产生显著变化 .依此现象 ,有望研制一种测试动物体内乳酸含量的光化学传感器     

Observation of polymer conformation hysteresis in extensional flow

Highly extensible Escherichia coli DNA molecules in planar extensional flow were visualized in dilute solution by fluorescence microscopy. For a narrow range of flow strengths, the molecules were found in either a coiled or highly extended conformation, depending on the deformation history of the polymer. This conformation hysteresis persists for many polymer relaxation times and is due to conformation-dependent hydrodynamic forces. Polymer conformational free-energy landscapes were calculated from computer simulations and show two free-energy minima for flow strengths near the coil-stretch transition. Hysteresis cycles may directly influence bulk-solution stresses and the development of stress-strain relations for dilute polymer flows.     

Effects of Monomer Structure on Their Organization and Polymerization in a Smectic Liquid Crystal

Photopolymerizable diacrylate monomers dissolved in fluid-layer smectic A and smectic C liquid crystal (LC) hosts exhibited significant spatial segregation and orientation that depend strongly on monomer structure. Small, flexible monomers such as 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) oriented parallel to the smectic layers and intercalated, whereas rod-shaped mesogen-like monomers such as 1,4-di-(4-(6-acryloyloxyhexyloxy)benzoyloxy)-2-methylbenzene (C6M) oriented normal to the smectic layers and collected within them. Such spatial segregation caused by the smectic layering dramatically enhanced photopolymerization rates; for HDDA, termination rates were reduced, whereas for C6M, both the termination and propagation rates were increased. These polymerization precursor structures suggest novel materials-design paradigms for gel LCs and nanophase-separated polymer systems.     

Spatially resolved calcium dynamics of mammalian Purkinje cells in cerebellar slice

Microfluorometric imaging was used to study the correlation of intracellular calcium concentration with voltage-dependent electrical activity in guinea pig cerebellar Purkinje cells. The spatiotemporal dynamics of intracellular calcium concentration are demonstrated during spontaneous and evoked activity. The results are in agreement with hypotheses of dendritic segregation of calcium conductances suggested by electrophysiological experiments. These in vitro slice fluorescence imaging methods are applicable to a wide range of problems in central nervous system biochemical and electrophysiological functions.     

Capillary wrinkling of floating thin polymer films

A freely floating polymer film, tens of nanometers in thickness, wrinkles under the capillary force exerted by a drop of water placed on its surface. The wrinkling pattern is characterized by the number and length of the wrinkles. The dependence of the number of wrinkles on the elastic properties of the film and on the capillary force exerted by the drop confirms recent theoretical predictions on the selection of a pattern with a well-defined length scale in the wrinkling instability. We combined scaling relations that were developed for the length of the wrinkles with those for the number of wrinkles to construct a metrology for measuring the elasticity and thickness of ultrathin films that relies on no more than a dish of fluid and a low-magnification microscope. We validated this method on polymer films modified by plasticizer. The relaxation of the wrinkles affords a simple method to study the viscoelastic response of ultrathin films.     

Adhesion and friction mechanisms of polymer-on-polymer surfaces

The adhesion and friction of smooth polymer surfaces were studied below the glass transition temperature by use of a surface forces apparatus. The friction force of a crosslinked polymer was orders of magnitude less than that of an uncrosslinked polymer. In contrast, after chain scission of the outermost layers, the adhesion hysteresis and friction forces increase substantially. These results show that polymer-polymer adhesion hysteresis and friction depend on the dynamic rearrangement of the outermost polymer segments at shearing interfaces, and that both increase as a transition is made from crosslinked surfaces to surfaces with long chains to surfaces with quasi-free ends. The results suggest new ways for manipulating the adhesion and friction of polymer surfaces by adjusting the state of the surface chains.     

Evaluation of plant seedling water stress using dynamic fluorescence index with blue LED-based fluorescence imaging

A dynamic fluorescence image index system capable of non-destructive assessment of water stress in cabbage seedlings was developed. The quenching curves of chlorophyll fluorescence characteristic to the plant's water stress status under reduced excitation energy were acquired via a multispectral imaging system. The dynamic fluorescence index (DFI), a fluorescence index derived from quantitative modeling of the quenching curves in this study, was found superior to conventional indices such as the fluorescence decrease ratio (Rfd) in evaluating water stress status in cabbage seedlings, with respect to due mainly to its significantly reduced measuring time and enhanced precision of the chlorophyll fluorescence responses. The best results of the quantitative model to predict water stress status of seedlings using the dynamic fluorescence index were r = 0.944 and SEE = 0.286 MPa using the 720 nm channel. The blue (460 nm) LED-excited fluorescence multispectral imaging system (FMSIS) coupled with DFI provides a powerful research tool for plant physiology studies as well as for improving greenhouse and agriculture management practices where quantitative assessment of water potential in leafy plants is critical.     

Studies of synthetic polymers by nonradiative energy transfer

Nonradiative energy transfer between fluorescent labels attached to polymers has been used to characterize polymer miscibility, the interpenetration of chain molecules in solution, micelle formation in graft copolymers, the unfolding of collapsed chain molecules in polymer melts, and the transfer of energy absorbed by a large number of donor labels to a small number of acceptors by an "antenna effect." The change in the emission spectrum after ionomer solutions with different fluorescent counterions were mixed provided rate constants for counterion interchange. The fluorescence behavior of dispersions of donor-labeled polymers stabilized by a graft copolymer with acceptor fluorophores in the solution phase led to inferences about the morphology of the dispersed particles.     

基于MINIPAM的番茄生长补光控制系统的软件设计

设计了一种基于MINIPAM荧光仪调制脉冲式荧光检测技术的不同颜色、不同光强组合LED阵列动态控制番茄生长的监测系统,通过荧光参数在线检测技术闭环控制番茄生长过程。该系统下位机采用可编程电源进而对LED组合光源进行控制,使其产生连续光,并实时改变光源的光照强度,为番茄的生长提供适合的光源。上位机软件利用DELPHI语言实现,MINIPAM与可编程电源通过串口与上位机通信,实现对番茄荧光参数变化的实时在线调控,建立番茄在不同光谱及控制模式下的生长模型,使番茄达到最佳的生长状态。试验结果表明了该系统能使番茄处于较好的生长状态,为研究一种动态控制作物生长系统提供了思路和参考。     

聚合物分子尺寸大小及其与岩石孔喉尺寸配伍关系的试验研究

为了探索和验证聚合物分子尺寸与岩石孔喉尺寸的配伍关系,以河南油田东部老油区稀油油田为例,应用数学方法、微孔滤膜过滤方法和动态光散射方法,对开展聚合物驱条件下拟使用的聚合物的分子尺寸进行试验测定,得到了双河油田不同渗透率岩石能够匹配的聚合物分子量。     

Origin of stick-slip motion in boundary lubrication

Molecular dynamics simulations of atomically thin, fluid films confined between two solid plates are described. For a broad range of parameters, a generic stick-slip motion is observed, consistent with the results of recent boundary lubrication experiments. Static plates induce crystalline order in the film. Stick-slip motion involves periodic shear-melting transitions and recrystllization of the film. Uniform motion occurs at high velocities where the film no longer has time to order. These results indicate that the origin of stick-slip motion is thermodynamic instability of the sliding state, rather than a dynamic instability as usually assumed.     

聚合物分子尺寸大小及其与岩石孔喉尺寸配伍关系的试验研究

为了探索和验证聚合物分子尺寸与岩石孔喉尺寸的配伍关系,以河南油田东部老油区稀油油田为例,应用数学方法、微孔滤膜过滤方法和动态光散射方法,对开展聚合物驱条件下拟使用的聚合物的分子尺寸进行试验测定,得到了双河油田不同渗透率岩石能够匹配的聚合物分子量。     

Somatic cell genetic assignment of peptidase C and the Rh linkage group to chromosome A-1 in man

The segregation of the human peptidase-C phenotype in five different series of human-mouse hybrid clones was examined. The chromosome constitution of these hybrids was determined by quinacrine mustard fluorescence, Giemsa banding, and constitutive heterochromatin staining. That the clones could be classified without exception either as human peptidase C positive/ A-1 positive (14 clones), or as peptidase C negative/ A-1 negative (12 clones) indicates that peptidase C can be assigned to the human A-i chromosome. Data from an extensive series of human-mouse clones used provide support for the syntenic association between peptidase C and phosphoglucomutase-1 and by inference a linkage of both to Rh factor group.     

四(4-溴)苯基铂卟啉荧光猝灭氧传感器的研究

研究了以PVC膜为支持体系，以四(4-溴)苯基铂卟啉为敏感物质的荧光猝灭氧传感器对分子氧的响应特性．该氧传感器敏感膜的最大激发波长为402nm，最大发射波长为664nm，分子氧可以有效地猝灭四(4-溴)苯基铂卟啉敏感膜的荧光．在100％N2和100％O2中的荧光强度之比大于40倍；在N2饱和和空气饱和的水中荧光强度之比大于14倍，有较高的灵敏度，其寿命大于3个月。     

Single-polymer dynamics in steady shear flow

The conformational dynamics of individual, flexible polymers in steady shear flow were directly observed by the use of video fluorescence microscopy. The probability distribution for the molecular extension was determined as a function of shear rate, gamma;, for two different polymer relaxation times, tau. In contrast to the behavior in pure elongational flow, the average polymer extension in shear flow does not display a sharp coil-stretch transition. Large, aperiodic temporal fluctuations were observed, consistent with end-over-end tumbling of the molecule. The rate of these fluctuations (relative to the relaxation rate) increased as the Weissenberg number, gamma;tau, was increased.     

不同质粒在大肠杆菌宿主细胞中的不稳定性研究

对几种不同的质粒在相同宿主中的稳定性进行检测,结果表明,在非选择压力下,４种不同的质粒在大肠 杆菌宿主细中的稳定性有明显的差异,其中,ＰＵＣＧ４１８最稳定,该质粒失去的速率仅为０．５％;